Man accused of killing his wife is sent for trial

A HUSBAND accused of murdering his wife by stabbing her at their home was fully committed for trial while he remained in a hospital bed yesterday.

A court was convened at the hospital bedside for the second time in eight days as Neil Cumming, 45, was formally remanded pending trial.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher presided over proceedings at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, as Cumming was accused of murdering his wife Jane, 40, in Longforgan on 15 July.

The hospital room briefly became a satellite of Perth Sheriff Court as Cumming appeared on a petition alleging he killed his wife with a knife or similar instrument.

He also faced a second charge of driving dangerously by crashing his car at high speed into the rear of a lorry on the A90 on the outskirts of Dundee.

Cumming, who was in a coma for several days after the car crash, made no plea or declaration in relation to the petition and was again remanded in custody.

Due to the serious injuries he suffered, he will not be moved from the hospital, but will instead by placed on a round-the-clock watch by officers from Reliance.

The 40-year-old bank worker's body was found in the family home in Longforgan, when police officers went to inform her about a car accident.

Mrs Cumming, who worked as a sales adviser at the TSB in Albert Street, Dundee, had two children - Nicole, 12, and Claire, 11 - with the accused.

The children were away from the family's 250,000 home in Mary Findlay Drive and staying with other relatives at the time of the alleged incidents.

Cumming, who had been on sick leave from his job with the Michelin tyre plant in Dundee, was fully committed for trial by Sheriff Fletcher.